portland



July 12 1927.

J. C. DE PENNING WOODEN PANEL 1300B Filed Nov. 4, 1926 IN VEN TOR Patented July 12, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN C. DE PENNING, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, ASSIGNOR TO GENTRAL DOOR AND LUM- BER COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, OREGON, A CORPORATION.

WOODEN PANEL DOOR.

Application filed November 4, 1926. Serial No. 146,148.

My invention relates to wooden doors which are made up, in the main, of a frame bounding a single panel, and it relates espe cially to those doors in which the grain structure of such panel runs uniformly in the same direction so as to be subject to a large degree of expansion and contraction under varying weather conditions.

One of the principal objects of my invention is to provide means in a door of this character which will securely support such panel in the frame to prevent it from rattling and yet will provide play for such panel so it will be free to swell and shrink without disturbing the frame members or be buckled itself. Another important object of my invention is to improve that type of wooden paneldoors referred to as a cross buck panel door, because of its crossed, strengthening members extending diagonally of the door panel so that such members are arranged automatically to square the door frame when it is being assembled and also to strengthen the latter to prevent distortion when it is hung by side hinges.

I attain these objects by providing the faces of the frame bounding the panel opening with a continuous groove, which is substantially the same width as the thickness of the panel but is substantially deeper than necessary to receive the latter. The amount of excess depth is computed to accommodate the probable amount of lateral swelling of the door panel and the overlap of the groove on such panel is computed to be suflicient to accommodate any shrinkage thereof.

I fasten bracing members centrally to such panel by screws or similar devices prior to the mounting of the latter in its groove, such members being of slightly greater length than the diagonal width of the panel opening and thus when the panel and bracing members are assembled in the door the latter are jambed tightly against the faces of the frame members defining the panel opening and the panel is seated 1n its groove but spaced from the bot-tom thereof, thus being held in position in the door solely by its stiffening members. The amount of excess length given the bracing members is only sufficient to take up the inherent elasticity of the wooden frame members under the Weight of the door hung from one side thereof. Said bracing members thus actually brace the frame and prevent the latter from sagging and becoming out of square.

A preferred method of construction of such doors is disclosed in my co-pending application for patent entitled Method of making wooden doors, filed November 4, 1926, Serial No. 146,149.

The details of construction of my im proved door are hereinafter described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which 1- Fig. 1 is an elevation of the various parts of a door embodying my improvement arranged in their approximate position for assembly;

Fig. 2 is a similar elevation of an assembled door; and

Fig. 3 is an elevation of a portion of such door frame and panel, drawn on a larger scale, and shows the manner of mounting,

the panel in the frame. I

My improved door is made up of a frame which may be composed of a top rail a, a bottom rail 6, glass rail 0, and a lock rail (Z. Socalled mutts 6 hold the panes of glass in place, and all of the rail members are dowelled or otherwise fastened in side frame members or stiles f and g. The opposed faces (Z and Z) of the lock rail and the bottom rail, respectively and the faces f and g of the portions of the stiles 7 and g extending between the lock and bottom rail members, define a panel opening it. A continuous groove 71 is cut in the faces 6, d, f, and g, respectively, to hold the edges 9" of the panel j. Such groove 2' is exactly as wide as the thickness of the panel so that the latter has a. sliding fit therein. Its depth, however, is more than sufficient to receive the edges of such panel and thus if unrestrained it would be free to have a substantial amount of lateral play. The purpose of forming such groove with excess depth is two-fold, namely, to prevent oversized panels from being jambed against the frame portions to hold them apart, and also to permit the panels to expand when moist'without forcing the frame members apart or buckling the panel. The excess depth of the groove is computed so that it will be sufliclent to take care of the maximum expansion of the panel and the amount of overlap given the sides of the groove about the faces of the panel is suflicient to conceal the edges of the latter when it shrinks under drying conditions.

Secured to the panel are stiffening members 7c and is, being fastened thereto by screws or other similar. fastening means.

Such stiffening, members are preferably crossed and extended diagonally of the panel j, to produce a so-called cross-buck panel door. Such stiffening members are located so that when the panel is inserted in the door, the ends thereof will abut against the faces 5, d, f and g to center the panel in its opening it. The stiffening members are slightly longer than the diagonal spacing of the faces bounding such panel opening it, and thus when the frame members are assembled and forced in place, the stiffening members are subjected to compression. This serves to take up any play .at their ends and also is sufficient to absorb the inherent elasticity of the frame to prevent the door from sagging and becoming out of square when it is hung from its side. That is, my improved door is superior to the doors made at the present time in that the stiffening members are subjected to the same-degree of compression when they .are being assembled as would result if they were hung by their sides and permitted to become out of square to take up any play in the parts and the inherent elasticity of the wooden frame members. I have diagrammatically shown this effect in Fig. 3 of my drawings.

The stiffening members 70 and is are subjected to endwise compression and inasmuch as such members will not compress to a very great degree endwise, the result is that the stiles and rails are compressed cross grain. The screws Z which fasten the panels to the stiffening members yield sufficiently to permit the panel to expand and contract under varying weather conditions and the lateral edges of the panel being spaced from the bot tom of the groove 11, are also free to move without destroying the neat appearance of the door and without weakening it structurally.

The stiffening members fastened to the panel j, are quite Stiff and thus when pres-- to be forced slightly out of square thereby,

the stiffening members, being originally correctly located upon the panel will serve to square the whole door automatically.

I claim:

1. In a wooden door, a frame defining a rectangular panel opening constituting a large portion of such door, the faces of such frame bounding said opening having a continuous groove formed therein, a panel mounted in said opening, its edge portions seated in said groove, and slidably engaging the sides of the latter, but spaced a predetermined distance from the bottom thereof, when such panel is centrally located in its opening, a transverse bracing member fastened to and supporting such panel in central position in its opening and bearing against the opposed faces of such frame, adjacent such groove.

'2. In a wooden door, a frame defining a rectangular panel opening constituting a large portion of such door, the faces of such frame bounding said opening having a continuous groove formed therein, a panel mounted in said opening, its edge portions seated in said groove and slidably engaging the sides of the latter but spaced a predetermined distance from the bottom thereof when such panel is centrally located in its opening, a diagonal bracing member fastened to and supporting such panel in central position in its opening and bearing against the faces of such frame adjacent such groove, such bracing member being of substantially greater length than the diagonal dimension of such opening, for the purpose described.

3. In a wooden door, a frame defining a rectangular panel opening constituting a large portion of such door, the faces of such frame bounding said opening having a continuous groove formed therein, a panel mounted in said opening, its edge portions seated in said groove and slidably engaging the sides of the latter but spaced a predeter mined distance from the bottom thereof when such panel is centrally located in its opening, crossed diagonal bracing members fastened to and supporting such panel in central position in its opening and bearing against the faces of such frame adjacent such gfoove, such bracing members being of substantially greater length than the diagonal dimensions of such opening, for the purpose described.

JOHN C. DE PENNING. 

